The Exercise Coach franchise unit economics
The Exercise Coach franchisees run a small-format strength and conditioning studio selling coached sessions and memberships. Across 206 studios trading the whole of 2025, gross sales averaged $304,317 against four cost lines totaling $212,557, 69.8% of revenue before royalty, technology, insurance, card fees or the owner’s own pay. The heaviest single item is a flat $4,000 monthly local marketing commitment.
- Primary source
- Exercise Coach USA, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 206 of 217 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Four cost lines (marketing, wages, rent and utilities) take 69.8% of the average studio’s sales. That leaves 30.2% to cover royalty, technology, insurance, card fees, supplies, repairs and the owner’s own pay, all of which sit outside those four. The largest single reason is a local marketing commitment of $4,000 a month, flat, whatever a studio bills.
- Marketing, wages, rent and utilities take $212,557 of an average $304,317 of sales. 69.8%, leaving 30.2% before royalty, technology, insurance, card fees and the owner's pay.
- The local marketing commitment is $48,000 a year, flat. 15.8% of the average studio's sales and 27.7% of the bottom quarter's.
- The brand and its required marketing take 17.4% of sales at the top quartile and 35.6% at the bottom. $80,165 against $61,735, on sales of $459,507 and $173,537.
- The four company studios bill $496,251 against $304,317 across 206 franchised studios. 63.1% more, with a median of $538,774 against $295,870.
- Wages alone is 42.7% of the average studio's sales. $129,852, ranging from $16,992 to $271,596 across 126 reporting studios.
How much does a The Exercise Coach franchise make?
The average The Exercise Coach unit reported $304,317 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $295,870. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 7% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Sales
206 franchised studios and four company studios.
| Group | Studios | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | At or above the average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quartile 1 | 52 | $459,507 | $431,623 | $734,007 | $361,976 | 18 / 35% |
| quartile 2 | 52 | $326,912 | $326,293 | $361,659 | $294,808 | 26 / 50% |
| quartile 3 | 51 | $253,825 | $252,102 | $294,074 | $216,692 | 25 / 49% |
| quartile 4 | 51 | $173,537 | $182,018 | $215,502 | $108,786 | 31 / 61% |
| All franchised | 206 | $304,317 | $295,870 | $734,007 | $108,786 | 91 / 44% |
| Company-owned | 4 | $496,251 | $538,774 | $660,765 | $246,692 | 2 / 50% |
As the brand reported it.
The quartile range is 2.65 times, one of the tightest in this library. $459,507 against $173,537. The single studio range is 6.75 times, from $734,007 to $108,786. But the groups themselves are narrow. The second and third quartiles, differ by $66,851 and $77,382 between their own highest and lowest studios. A small-format studio produces a predictable number.
The bottom quartile is the only group where a clear majority beat their own average. 31 of 51, 61%, against 35% in the top quartile. Its median of $182,018 sits above its $173,537 average, so a handful of very weak studios (the minimum is $108,786) pull that group down.
The four company studios bill 63.1% more than the franchised average. $496,251 against $304,317, and their median of $538,774 is 82% above the franchised median of $295,870. Four studios is too few to draw a rule from. But the direction is the same one the first-quarter figures show and the same one most brands in this library report.
The first quarter of 2026 annualizes to $322,728, up 6.0%. Franchised studios billed $80,682 on average in that quarter against a full-year 2025 average of $304,317. The company studios annualize to $557,408, up 12.3%. Both are single quarters, and a fitness concept's first quarter has a seasonal advantage the rest of the year has to live down.
The Strength Plus program.
| Group | Studios | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Change * | 2025 full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franchised | 56 | $110,174 | $99,017 | +11.3% | $391,361 |
| Company-owned | 4 | $139,352 | $133,906 | +4.1% | $496,251 |
| Combined | 60 | $112,119 | $101,343 | +10.6% | $398,354 |
Sales figures as the brand reported it; the change column is marked *.
The 60 Strength Plus studios were already the stronger studios. Their 2025 baseline of $398,354 is 30.9% above the $304,317 franchised average. That is before the program could have done much, 33 of them started during 2025 and 27 had yet to start. So the +10.6% first-quarter move describes what happened at a self-selected group of high performers.
The franchised group moved 11.3% and the company group 4.1%. The company studios had run the pilot through 2024, so they had already banked whatever gain was available. That contrast is the most useful thing in these two tables: the lift appears where the program is new and flattens where it is established.
Top performers
What separates the top The Exercise Coach performers
The Exercise Coach splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $459,507 a year. The worst averaged $173,537. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $295,870. The average was $304,317. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 2.6× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Capacity, fixed at build.capacity is 206 studio floor multiplied by hours multiplied by how full they run. What you can sell is set by the build, and the build does not change after opening.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building, quoted at 5,000 households. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $262,735 to $481,369, a 1.8× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Members, the operating driver.This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Service and retail mix.Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 7.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.206 of 217 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
Fees and what it costs to open
What the brand and its marketing requirement cost.
| Group | Gross sales | Royalty | Brand fund at 1% | Local marketing commitment | Total | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quartile 1 | $459,507 | $27,570 | $4,595 | $48,000 | $80,165 | 17.4% |
| quartile 2 | $326,912 | $19,615 | $3,269 | $48,000 | $70,884 | 21.7% |
| All franchised | $304,317 | $18,259 | $3,043 | $48,000 | $69,302 | 22.8% |
| quartile 3 | $253,825 | $15,230 | $2,538 | $48,000 | $65,768 | 25.9% |
| quartile 4 | $173,537 | $12,000 | $1,735 | $48,000 | $61,735 | 35.6% |
Ours, built from the filed rates: a royalty of the greater of 6% of gross sales or $1,000 a month, waived for the first full or partial month after opening. A 1% brand fund fee with zero voting rights attached. And a local marketing commitment of $4,000 a month once the grand opening period ends, against which brand fund fees and grand opening spend give zero credit.
The $48,000 marketing commitment is the largest brand-related cost at every quartile. Bigger than the royalty everywhere, and at the bottom quartile it is four times the royalty. It is also entirely flat: the same $4,000 a month lands on a studio billing $108,786 and one billing $734,007. That single term accounts for why the all-in rate runs 17.4% to 35.6% on identical contract terms.
The $1,000 monthly royalty minimum binds on any studio below $200,000 of sales. Which covers most of the bottom quartile, averaging $173,537. Those studios pay $12,000 against $10,412 at the 6% rate, $1,588 more, which is small beside the marketing commitment but points the same way.
At the average studio the brand and its marketing take $69,302 against $91,760 left after the four disclosed cost lines. Except that $48,000 of the $69,302 is the marketing commitment, which is already inside the $37,831 marketing line plus the affiliate digital fee. Read cleanly: of the $91,760 remaining after marketing, wages, rent and utilities, the royalty and brand fund take $21,302. That leaves $70,458 for technology, insurance, card fees, supplies, repairs, professional fees and the owner.
What it costs to open a studio.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49,500 | $49,500 |
| Initial training fee | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Training expenses | $1,500 | $10,000 |
| Lease review legal fees | $3,500 | $5,000 |
| Lease deposit and three months' rent | $8,000 | $24,000 |
| Utility deposits | $100 | $1,000 |
| Construction | $0 | $85,000 |
| Signage | $2,300 | $8,000 |
| Decorating, furniture and furnishings | $4,200 | $6,315 |
| Equipment package | $106,540 | $156,089 |
| Technology systems | $2,850 | $6,850 |
| First aid equipment | $1,350 | $2,100 |
| Opening inventory | $2,550 | $4,250 |
| Uniforms | $600 | $1,000 |
| Grand opening marketing commitment | $29,195 | $43,275 |
| Business licenses | $250 | $750 |
| Professional fees | $4,000 | $5,240 |
| Insurance | $800 | $1,500 |
| Pre-opening wages | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Surety bond premium | $500 | $1,500 |
| Additional funds, first three months | $30,000 | $45,000 |
| Total | $262,735 | $481,369 |
As the brand reported it.
The equipment package is $106,540 to $156,089, 41% to 32% of the whole build. Bought from one designated supplier, with a range of $49,549. Construction swings from $0 to $85,000, which is the other half of the variability. A studio taking a second-generation space with usable fit-out can open near the bottom of the range.
The build costs 0.86 to 1.58 times an average studio's annual sales. $262,735 to $481,369 against $304,317. At bottom-quarter sales of $173,537 the low-end build is 1.51 years of revenue and the high end 2.77. For a format this small, the capital is the real constraint.
Grand opening marketing is carried at $29,195 to $43,275 against a stated $15,000 requirement. The requirement covers the 90 days after opening. The investment table's figure is roughly double to triple it. That suggests the franchisor expects real spending before opening as well. At $4,000 a month thereafter, a studio's first full year of marketing commitment reaches $65,195 to $79,275.
The cost lines
The four costs on record.
| Line | Average | Median | Highest | Lowest | Share of $304,317 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wages | $129,852 | $124,032 | $271,596 | $16,992 | 42.7% |
| Rent | $39,846 | $38,172 | $80,400 | $14,400 | 13.1% |
| Marketing | $37,831 | $36,618 | $81,000 | $12,000 | 12.4% |
| Utilities | $5,028 | $4,686 | $12,336 | $600 | 1.7% |
| All four * | $212,557 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 69.8% |
| What remains * | $91,760 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 30.2% |
The four expense rows are as the brand reported it for the 126 reporting studios. Are qualifying studios that answered the franchisor's annual expense survey. They reported monthly averages that the franchisor multiplied by twelve.
Wages is 42.7% of sales and runs from $16,992 to $271,596. A sixteen-fold range across 126 studios, wider than anything else here including sales. The $16,992 end is roughly one part-time coach; the $271,596 end is a fully staffed studio. In a coached format, where a session needs a person in the room, that line is the operating model.
What remains after these four lines is 30.2% of sales, and it has a long way still to fall. $91,760 at the average studio, against which sit the royalty, the brand fund, credit card fees, about $3,800 of insurance, all technology and software fees, the $720 water filtration lease, supplies, repairs, professional fees, phone and travel. Only then comes the owner’s own pay.
Marketing at 12.4% of sales is the highest in this library. $37,831 reported, against a required commitment of $4,000 a month. Add the $790 monthly digital marketing fee paid to the franchisor's affiliate ($9,480 a year, the reported marketing figure appears to exclude) and the total reaches $47,311 against a $48,000 requirement. The two reconcile within $689, which suggests studios are meeting the commitment almost exactly and treating it as a ceiling.
Retail sites against everywhere else.
| Line | Retail, 71 studios | Non-retail, 55 studios | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $42,591 | $36,302 | +$6,289 |
| Utilities | $5,893 | $3,912 | +$1,981 |
| Wages | $127,254 | $133,206 | −$5,952 |
| Marketing | $37,325 | $38,484 | −$1,159 |
| All four * | $213,063 | $211,904 | +$1,159 |
The four expense rows are as the brand reported it for each subset; the difference column and the total row are marked *.
A retail site costs $8,270 more in rent and utilities and saves $7,111 in wages and marketing. The two almost cancel: $213,063 against $211,904, a difference of $1,159 on a $212,000 cost base. Given that the franchisor says location leaves sales materially unchanged, the choice between a shopping center and an office park is close to economically neutral in this format. Is unusual. Means the decision can be made on operational grounds.
Non-retail studios spend $5,952 more on wages. 4.7% more, whether that is longer staffed hours covering for absent foot traffic or simply a different labor market is an open question. Either way, it is why the rent saving fails to reach the bottom line.
The network of locations
The network of locations. (Item 20)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminations | End | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 166 | 28 | 3 | 191 | +25 |
| 2024 | 191 | 28 | 8 | 211 | +20 |
| 2025 | 211 | 11 | 5 | 217 | +6 |
As the brand reported it.
Openings fell from 28 to 11 while terminations held near five. Net growth went +25, +20, +6. The system is still growing, and the pace of new units has dropped by 61% in a single year. That is the number to ask the franchisor about directly, because it is the sharpest signal in the outlet tables.
67 openings against 16 terminations across three years. Four studios arrive for every one that leaves, and the network has grown 31% from 166 to 217. Every departure is a termination, which is an unusually clean record to read.
18 signed agreements sit unopened against 17 projected openings. Almost one for one. The tightest pipeline-to-projection ratio in this library, where most brands have three or four times their projection. The franchisor is projecting to convert nearly everything it has sold.
What territory you get.
Your territory holds at least 5,000 households earning $120,000 or more. Defined by the franchisor in whatever manner it deems appropriate, using whatever data source it chooses, provided the qualified household count is met at the time of designation.
The franchisor has zero obligation to adjust the territory as households change. And reserves the right to redraw it at renewal under its then-current guidelines. Relocation needs prior written approval, which the franchisor will refrain from unreasonably withholding. A $2,500 fee, removal of all trade dress from the old site, reopening within 30 days. Possibly a fresh grand opening campaign.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a studio be billing?
The 206 franchised studios trading all of 2025 averaged $304,317 with a median of $295,870, ranging from $108,786 to $734,007. By quartile: $459,507, $326,912, $253,825 and $173,537. The four company-owned studios averaged $496,251. In the first quarter of 2026 franchised studios billed $80,682, which annualizes to $322,728.
What does a studio cost to run?
Four lines across 126 studios: wages at $129,852, rent at $39,846, marketing at $37,831 and utilities at $5,028, $212,557, or 69.8% of the average studio’s sales. Sitting outside them: owner compensation, royalty, credit card fees, insurance of about $3,800, all software and technology fees, a $720 water filtration lease, supplies, repairs, professional fees, phone, travel and uniforms. So 30.2% remains before any of those.
What does the brand cost each year?
A royalty of the greater of 6% of gross sales or $1,000 a month, a 1% brand fund fee. A local marketing commitment of $4,000 a month ($48,000 a year) once the grand opening period ends. The $790 monthly digital marketing fee to the franchisor's affiliate is credited against that commitment. All in, that is 17.4% of sales at the top quartile and 35.6% at the bottom. The marketing commitment is the larger part of it at every level.
Does a retail location perform better?
The franchisor states that location leaves gross sales materially unchanged, and the cost comparison is close to neutral. A retail site costs $6,289 more in rent and $1,981 more in utilities. Saves $5,952 in wages and $1,159 in marketing, $213,063 against $211,904 across the four disclosed lines, a difference of $1,159. So the choice between a shopping center and an office or industrial space can be made on operational grounds.
Who does bookkeeping for a The Exercise Coach franchise?
The shape of the close is obvious: report wages, rent, marketing and utilities in a fixed format so they benchmark directly against $129,852, $39,846, $37,831 and $5,028. Then show everything else as a separate block. That block is where an owner’s actual profit is decided, because those four lines already account for 69.8% of sales. Two mechanics need watching. The royalty is the greater of 6% or $1,000 a month, so a studio under $200,000 of sales should model the minimum. And gross sales include the full retail value of comped sessions given to friends and family beyond ten a month. So a generous studio can owe royalty on revenue that stayed uncollected, worth a monthly check against the comp report. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to The Exercise Coach
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many The Exercise Coach locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What is left after the four lines?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast, and reporting, built around the costs the four headline lines leave out.
Request the review